Mizuho Partners with Ripple for Cross-Currency Settlements

Financial service company Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG)
has confirmed partnering with Ripple Labs to try out the latter’s blockchain-based solution for cross-currency settlements.

The Japan-based finance giant, which is also a part of the R3
led international banking consortium, plans to utilize Ripple Protocol’s proprietary blockchain protocol – known as Ripple – to implement speedy and cheap cross-border settlements.

SBI Holdings(TYO:8473)
, another Japanese financial services company, also plays an integral role in the aforementioned deployment following its joint-venture partnership with Ripple Labs this year. Mizuho, therefore, will be able to expand its blockchain-based operations throughout Asia by utilizing SBI’s presence in the territory.

Unlike other blockchain based solutions available in the market, Ripple allows banks to have more control over their applications making it a favorite. The SBI Holdings partnership has now given Ripple access to the high-volume region for trade and remittance payments, states Ripple
. SBI Holdings’ wide presence in over 20 countries including China, South Korea, and other ASEAN countries will help Ripple leverage upon the partnership to enter new markets.

Chris Larsen, the CEO of Ripple
believes that the platform has reached a tipping point. Financial institutions are moving beyond blockchain experimentation and projects to real-world applications that are driving significant bank-to-bank volume. This major transformation in the financial system combined with the growth of Ripple network paves the way for new connected commerce opportunities and growing demands for real-time, high volume, low-value global payments.

Ripple is gaining ground in the growing distributed fintech ecosystem as Ethereum, the well-known smart contracts platform catches up with it.